*Enjoy the process and engage your guests in the process. Who cares if it takes all day. If you have a table full of deliciousness at the end and good company to eat it with, it was worth it.
*For easy serving with company, serve buffet style on the counter. Set out the dishes with spoons and set the table. Everybody grabs their plate and serves themselves.
*Use placemats and napkins. Set the place settings properly. It makes guests feel special.
*Use whatever you have on hand for salads. The more the merrier, just make sure it goes together. Red onion, mandarin oranges, and cucumber or cucumber, celery, and tomatoes.
*Use tried and true recipes. Favorite and family recipes. They make things more delicious and meaningful.
*Serve green bean salad. It's delicious. And my Grandma makes it.
*Organize cabinets by stacking like items - bowls with bowls, pans with pans, skillets with skillets. Being in multiple houses with small kitchens from park models to RVs taught my Grandma this is the best route to go. This makes everything easily accessible, and easy to get to.
*Use leftovers to make sandwiches for lunch. I watched my Grandma make pork sandwiches out of the evenings before meal, smoked beef sandwiches out of a gift from a friend - anything can make a good sandwich. This uses up last night's leftovers or whatever is on hand and doesn't take too much thought to have a quickly delicious lunch.
Wednesday, December 28, 2011
Things I learned about road trips
*Take potty breaks whenever necessary. It's not worth holding it for that last two hour stretch. You'll arrive miserable.
*Stop often and enjoy the scenery. Climb a rock mountain just because. Pull over and throw snowballs in a small town.
*Act like your locals. Don't treat the towns like road stops and find whatever gross place on the side of the highway locals refuse to go to. Find a local coffee shop and enjoy an amazing Cafe Au Lait.
*Download books on your iPod. For free, if you have a husband like mine. Don't listen to them on shuffle.
*Bring plenty of snacks. Breakfast, lunch, and dinner snacks. Bagels are good. So is tuna for a lunch when you don't have anywhere to stop.
*Bring a pillow and blanket, especially for the little ones. Let them build car forts in the back seat of the mini van. Have them cuddle up to go to sleep.
*This is essential for our family: leave EARLY in the morning rather than drive at night. 3am drives I can do. Driving *until* 3am, not so much.
*Switch drivers every time you get gas. Or every two and a half hours or so when you stop for a potty break. Nobody gets burnt out, and it makes the drive enjoyable for everyone.
*Stop often and enjoy the scenery. Climb a rock mountain just because. Pull over and throw snowballs in a small town.
*Act like your locals. Don't treat the towns like road stops and find whatever gross place on the side of the highway locals refuse to go to. Find a local coffee shop and enjoy an amazing Cafe Au Lait.
*Download books on your iPod. For free, if you have a husband like mine. Don't listen to them on shuffle.
*Bring plenty of snacks. Breakfast, lunch, and dinner snacks. Bagels are good. So is tuna for a lunch when you don't have anywhere to stop.
*Bring a pillow and blanket, especially for the little ones. Let them build car forts in the back seat of the mini van. Have them cuddle up to go to sleep.
*This is essential for our family: leave EARLY in the morning rather than drive at night. 3am drives I can do. Driving *until* 3am, not so much.
*Switch drivers every time you get gas. Or every two and a half hours or so when you stop for a potty break. Nobody gets burnt out, and it makes the drive enjoyable for everyone.
I have been in a fog lately. I thought it was just me until today my best friend told me she has been in a fog since June. A fog meaning both her and I grateful for life but she just can't fully enjoy it and have that feeling of overly bubblicious life like her and I normally always do. In fact, I look at her and I's pictures from our San Antonio road trip and I see how the two of us are just bubbling over with happiness for life.
Things have happened since then.
In 2009, we both started school and got overwhelmed.
In 2010, her mom passed away.
In 2010, I held her up as much as I could when her mom passed away.
In 2010, Brando's and my closest couple friends disowned us and severely judged our every move.
In 2011, a year passed since her mom passed away. That was June.
In 2011, a whole new year of grieving started for her.
In 2011, a new kind of support for her started for me.
In 2011, I finally let go of the friendship we lost in 2010 even though it still hurts.
Today, those events cloud my vision of reality superimposing it with the emotion of those events. I thought it was just me. Turns out she is in the same boat. I am so glad God brought her and I together to go through life together and mirror each other's emotions even when we don't realize it. She is going to talk to her counselor on Friday about it and share with me what she says. Maybe it's time for me to go back to counseling. Allison has mentioned in the past she goes for a yearly 'check-up'. Maybe it's time for my yearly (or two) check up.
Things have happened since then.
In 2009, we both started school and got overwhelmed.
In 2010, her mom passed away.
In 2010, I held her up as much as I could when her mom passed away.
In 2010, Brando's and my closest couple friends disowned us and severely judged our every move.
In 2011, a year passed since her mom passed away. That was June.
In 2011, a whole new year of grieving started for her.
In 2011, a new kind of support for her started for me.
In 2011, I finally let go of the friendship we lost in 2010 even though it still hurts.
Today, those events cloud my vision of reality superimposing it with the emotion of those events. I thought it was just me. Turns out she is in the same boat. I am so glad God brought her and I together to go through life together and mirror each other's emotions even when we don't realize it. She is going to talk to her counselor on Friday about it and share with me what she says. Maybe it's time for me to go back to counseling. Allison has mentioned in the past she goes for a yearly 'check-up'. Maybe it's time for my yearly (or two) check up.
On leaving comments about the pictures on a post without reading the post
These are thoughts I've had for awhile ever since I saw Ashley from Hudson's Happenings mention this happens to her frequently. My thoughts just spilled out as a comment to this post by Elle just now as I'd never realized the gravity of the situation and I had to save them here:
Wow. What a situation to learn from! I've never understood that concept, and was introduced to it for the first time when I saw a blogger mention how it hurts when it happens to her. I'm not sure if anyone has ever done it to me, except for the obvious 'spam-type' comments. I always think people pull out a specific thing that interests them about a post to comment on. This is why I find it hard to understand how some people can read SO MANY blogs to increase their readership!! I tried that a bit over the summer and felt like their are so many relationships I 'sorta' started and then fell by the wayside because I had forgotten who they were in the deluge of visiting blogs. Such a sad affair, when some of my closest friends are blog friends I have met in real life. I think this is one of the reasons my blog 'sped up' so quick and then slowed down SO much, because I missed the intimacy of truly reading a blog and understanding someone's life. I just met a blog friend this week in real life and am so excited that perhaps it may have worked. Getting to know someone is so much better than looking at their pictures and thinking you know them without really realizing what and who they are all about.
Wow. What a situation to learn from! I've never understood that concept, and was introduced to it for the first time when I saw a blogger mention how it hurts when it happens to her. I'm not sure if anyone has ever done it to me, except for the obvious 'spam-type' comments. I always think people pull out a specific thing that interests them about a post to comment on. This is why I find it hard to understand how some people can read SO MANY blogs to increase their readership!! I tried that a bit over the summer and felt like their are so many relationships I 'sorta' started and then fell by the wayside because I had forgotten who they were in the deluge of visiting blogs. Such a sad affair, when some of my closest friends are blog friends I have met in real life. I think this is one of the reasons my blog 'sped up' so quick and then slowed down SO much, because I missed the intimacy of truly reading a blog and understanding someone's life. I just met a blog friend this week in real life and am so excited that perhaps it may have worked. Getting to know someone is so much better than looking at their pictures and thinking you know them without really realizing what and who they are all about.
Friday, December 16, 2011
Picking up the blogger gauntlet
I think I have to admit my life is starting to get busy again.
I had a little bit of a break when the kids were both in elementary school, but with Justinbustin in middle school it's a whole new world.
I *thought* I would be less busy, but I'm really not.
I have two pick up times and two drop off times. Two places to volunteer at. Clubs to assistant coach. Band to figure out. Grades to check up on to relay to my son so he can take care of them if need be.
Boy scouts pick up drop off once a week with once a month campouts.
Tumbling pick up drop off once a week.
Youth group pick up drop off once a week.
It might be more mental work with lots o' driving, but it's busy again.
I don't think I give myself enough credit. Yes, I do have some downtime. My evenings are packed solid though, as are my mornings and late afternoon.
Instead of normal evening downtime, I get my downtime late morning, early afternoon when I'm not working, which I'm crossing my fingers will pick back up after the holidays. The rest is a blur. A fun, crazy blur, but a blur.
When I work, I get no downtime. Which is okay, too. Just more stressful.
So, yeah, I rock. I just forgot.
I had a little bit of a break when the kids were both in elementary school, but with Justinbustin in middle school it's a whole new world.
I *thought* I would be less busy, but I'm really not.
I have two pick up times and two drop off times. Two places to volunteer at. Clubs to assistant coach. Band to figure out. Grades to check up on to relay to my son so he can take care of them if need be.
Boy scouts pick up drop off once a week with once a month campouts.
Tumbling pick up drop off once a week.
Youth group pick up drop off once a week.
It might be more mental work with lots o' driving, but it's busy again.
I don't think I give myself enough credit. Yes, I do have some downtime. My evenings are packed solid though, as are my mornings and late afternoon.
Instead of normal evening downtime, I get my downtime late morning, early afternoon when I'm not working, which I'm crossing my fingers will pick back up after the holidays. The rest is a blur. A fun, crazy blur, but a blur.
When I work, I get no downtime. Which is okay, too. Just more stressful.
So, yeah, I rock. I just forgot.
Tuesday, December 13, 2011
Humidity Frizz
Absolutely LOVING my new hair dryer. The weather is a perfect mess of humidity. But my hair is silky soft without a bit of frizz. I only slightly dampened it and blow dryed it this morning, too, just to tame it into submission after bed head from going to bed with wet hair. LOVE.
Monday, December 12, 2011
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